


Feet Back on the Ground

by twilight_shades



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Caretaking, Hand Jobs, Kissing, M/M, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Video Cameras
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 08:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11596923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twilight_shades/pseuds/twilight_shades
Summary: All Liam wants to do is help Louis.  Well, maybe that’s notallhe wants to do with Louis.





	Feet Back on the Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Fiction based on observed public personas and wild speculation. Any resemblance to actual reality is completely coincidental.

Louis’ tetchy, no, wait, not tetchy, but off somehow, like something’s wrong. They all have their off days, of course, but this seems like more. Liam’s proven right, later, at the concert. Usually, a concert can lift any of their moods if they’re having a bad day, but Louis is just putting on a good show. He plays to the crowd, but he’s distracted and he doesn’t try to mess anybody about. Niall notices and catches Liam’s eye. Liam shrugs because he doesn’t know where it’s coming from. So, he and Niall get together and double-team Louis to try to make him feel better, lighten his mood a little. Until Harry gets hold of Liam and murmurs to him to stop, that the fans hadn’t noticed anything wrong, but Liam’s and Niall’s antics are making them focus in on Louis. Harry then wanders off to Niall and presumably tells him the same. They back off and let Louis do it his way. Louis aims a grateful smile at Harry, an exasperated, but fond headshake at Liam, and an arched eyebrow at Niall. Niall shrugs a little and Liam looks down a little sheepishly.

After the show, Liam checks online and finds out that Harry was right. Fans are speculating about what was wrong with Louis because of his and Niall’s actions. One tweet says something about how it looked like Liam and Niall wanted to wrap Louis up in a blanket and feed him tea. And they’re not exactly wrong. But it’s the reply to that tweet that makes Liam cringe because it’s about Louis being like a little, wet, cold kitty, which Louis’ll hate. And there’s no real chance he won’t get wind of it since it sparks a hashtag that trends: #LittleKittyLou.

Liam blows out a breath and then straightens his shoulders. He heads out of his hotel room. He turns to go down the hall to Louis’ room and sees one of their security guys, Phil, leaving it. Louis is standing in the door, thanking him.

Phil smiles affectionately at Louis and says, “Don’t worry about it, it’s part of our job. If you need to have someone do it again, just let one of us know. As often as you need.”

Louis gives him an embarrassed sort of smile and says, “I still feel a bit stupid, but yeah, thanks.”

Phil reaches over and squeezes Louis’ shoulder. He nods to Liam when he catches his eye and heads off toward the stairwell, probably to check in on the fellows posted there.

Louis waits for Liam in the doorway of his room. He quirks an eyebrow when Liam gets there. “Little. Kitty. Lou,” he says flatly.

“I’m sorry. Just, there was something off and Niall and I wanted to make it better. Didn’t mean for that to happen,” Liam says apologetically.

Louis looks at him and sighs tiredly. “It is what it is.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I mean, whatever is wrong, not the kitty thing, though we can talk about that if you like or-“

Louis cuts him off. “Don’t really want to talk about either.”

“What about what Phil was doing? What was he doing?”

Louis rolls his eyes and pulls Liam into the room, closing the door behind him. Louis kicks off his shoes and leaves them in the middle of the floor as he wanders further into the room, barefoot. “Always with the questions. He was just doing a sweep of the room.” 

Liam feels his eyes go wide. “Was there an incident? Did someone try to get in? Is that why you were so… not you?”

“Nothing happened here. Just feeling a little edgy, wanted someone to double check.”

“Here. Nothing happened _here_. Where did something happen?”

“Jesus, Liam, stop. It was nothing important, nobody got hurt or anything,” Louis says exasperatedly.

“I think you should tell me what happened. Not because I want to know, though I do, and not because I’m worried about you, though I am, but because if it’s something that’s a security issue, it may also happen to one of us and it would be nice to be prepared.”

“Wow, Liam, I am impressed. Trying to use guilt to manipulate me into telling you. My how you’ve changed.”

Liam waves a hand at Louis. “I’ve learnt from the best.”

Louis looks at Liam for a long moment. Abruptly he says, “There were hidden cameras in my flat. Found one after I’d been back about an hour. I called someone in and they found more. Apparently they’d been put there a couple days before I flew back for the small break we had. They’re trying to track down who did it.”

Liam has no idea what to say to that, it’s horrifying. It makes his skin crawl just hearing about it, so it must be so much worse for Louis. “Jesus, Louis.”

“And now I’m being stupid, getting one of our security to check my room every time I leave it for any amount of time.”

“That’s not stupid. You’re just being, um, _aware_.”

“Paranoid, more like. They were in my loo and bedroom. I can’t take my kit off until I’m in the shower with the curtain pulled. And I haven’t had a wank since it happened.”

Liam’s feels his face flush a bit. Louis is never as predictable as Liam would expect him to be – thinking he’ll always go for the laugh or the tease and then he’ll suddenly say something sweet and sentimental or thinking he’s always going to tickle or nip or something and then he’ll give a warm hug. For all that Louis loves innuendo, he’s fairly close-mouthed about his sex life, but then he’ll just say something like that matter-of-factly.

“Can I help?” Liam asks.

Louis’ eyebrows completely disappear under his fringe as he blinks at Liam, looking incredulous.

Liam’s puzzled until he replays the last thing Louis said and then he goes from a little flushed to bright red.

“What exactly are you offering, Lee-yum?” Louis asks, bright-eyed with a smirk playing on his lips.

Annnd there goes the innuendo. “I wasn’t, I mean, I was just, if you needed anything, but not _that_.” Liam pauses and then says, “Or, well, unless you wanted. You know I don’t have much experience with blokes, but I could, um, help?”

Louis stares at him.

Liam can’t say he’s never seen Louis at a loss for words, but it doesn’t happen that often and as the seconds tick by, Liam gets more and more anxious. Maybe he could go find something to hide under.

“’S’okay, Liam. Don’t need a sympathy shag, thanks.”

“No! No, that’s not what I… Of course it wouldn’t be. I mean, Jesus, Lou, you’re, you know, so fit. Pretty, even. And intense. And I bet you make the best noises. I mean, I’ve thought about-“ Liam cuts himself off abruptly before he can say anything explicit to his friend, a friend who has never expressed any sort of interest in Liam other than the flirting that Louis seems to do with most everyone at one time or another.

“Have you been fantasising about me, Liam?”

If there had been one hint of Louis trying to take the piss, Liam would have had to find some deep dark hole to crawl into, instead all that Liam can hear in Louis’ words is curiosity. Liam nods cautiously, not willing to try a verbal response given what he’s already spilled.

“Alright.”

Liam has no idea what that means. “Alright?”

“Alright, yes. You can… help.”

“Oh. _Oh_.” Liam smiles. “Okay, then.” Liam eagerly strips off his t-shirt, kicks out of his shoes and socks, and then starts to unfasten his jeans, but stops when he notices Louis twisting the bottom hem of his shirt in white-knuckled hands and making no move to actually take it off. “Louis, if you don’t want this-“

“No, I do, I just…” Louis trails off, looking around the room.

At first Liam thinks he’s just avoiding looking Liam in the eye, but then he realizes that Louis is really _looking_ around the room, like he’s searching for something. Cameras, Liam thinks, Louis is trying to make sure there aren’t cameras. Liam feels like an idiot. Louis had just told him. “You want to turn the lights off?” Liam asks softly.

“No. I mean, yes, I do, but I don’t want to be someone who wants to, you know?”

“I think so? But it’s okay if you are.”

“Shut up, Liam. Stop being so nice.”

Liam grins at him because that’s a pretty common Louis reaction to feeling touched by something Liam says or does, though sometimes Louis’ reaction is to look touched, give Liam a heartfelt smile, and say something about five times more touching right back.

Louis pushes out a breath and then pulls his shirt off. He then quickly undoes his trousers, pushes them down, and kicks them aside. He’s stood there, just in his pants, looking a little defiant, fists clenching at his sides.

Liam would like to take a minute and just admire him, but he’s awfully tense. So Liam strips off his jeans and moves to the bed, pulling up the comforter and sheets. “Let’s get under the covers, yeah?”

Louis wavers, looking like he’s going to protest (Liam knows Louis’ first impulse isn’t always contrariness, but sometimes it certainly seems like it is, even when it’s at the expense of his own comfort or well-being), but then climbs into the bed and pulls the covers over himself. He wriggles a bit and Liam realizes Louis’ pulling his pants off under the covers. Louis drops them beside the bed.

Liam climbs in beside him, does the same with his pants and snuggles up close. “Can I kiss you?”

Louis looks surprised, but Liam’s not sure if it’s because Liam asked or if it’s that Liam wants to at all. “Go on, then.”

And then they’re kissing. It’s some strange mixture of playful and intense, with some biting, so, pretty much exactly like Louis himself. Liam loves it. He kisses Louis again and again, trying different angles. Louis kisses him back, though after a bit, he fidgets some, reminding Liam of the reason for this. Liam slides a hand down Louis’ chest, then his stomach, then lower.

Liam slowly wraps his hand around Louis’ cock. Louis gives an almost breathless little moan and it’s so awfully arousing that Liam is already embarrassingly close to coming. Liam tries to keep kissing Louis as he works him with his hand, but he keeps getting caught up in one and faltering in the other, which apparently irritates Louis because he digs his fingernails into Liam’s shoulder and back every time it happens. Liam has to stop that as it’s not as discouraging as Liam thinks it should be and with the way Louis sometimes pinches or digs his fingers into Liam’s sides on stage, he really can’t afford to have that linked to this in his mind. Liam pulls his mouth away and drops his head into the crook of Louis’ neck. He concentrates on what he’s doing with his hand and finds a rhythm. It’s a mistake to set Louis’ mouth free because now it’s not just the soft moans, but breathy gasps and raspy whispered words. Filthy, filthy words. And Liam just pops off, without even a touch.

Louis asks, “Did you just-“ and then cuts himself off.

“Sorry, sorry. It was, you were just so- Give me a moment,” Liam says weakly. After a bit of recovery, Liam tightens his hand again and lifts his head from Louis neck. Part of him marvels that he’s actually doing this with Louis, that he gets to put his hands on Louis, that Louis is letting him, wanting him to. He gets to watch Louis’ face as Liam gets him closer to the edge. It’s soppy and all, but he thinks he wouldn’t ever get tired of seeing Louis’ like this, his blue eyes bright with need, his mobile mouth working. Louis’ whole body goes taut and he comes with a breath of sound that Liam will never call a whimper outside his own head. The whole time, Liam studies his face, watches it go slack, Louis’ eyes, fluttering shut, his features soft and somehow still sharp at the same time. Liam pulls in a startled breath when he realizes that not only would he not get tired of seeing Louis’ face like before and like this, but ever other way too and that he would very much like to see it every day for the rest of his life.

Louis’ eyes open and he looks at Liam. “Alright there, Payno?”

“I like your face,” Liam blurts out. Liam wants to hit himself in the head

“…Thanks?”

“I mean I like this, here with you, and your face, um, no, I mean, yes, but, damn.” Liam thinks he should not be allowed to talk sometimes.

Louis raises an eyebrow.

“I want this, with you, again, with you like this.” Liam rolls his own eyes at himself and how inarticulate he is being. He should stop now, before he says something really stupid. Fuck it, he thinks. “Louis, I want forever with you.” Liam relaxes as soon as he says it, because that is exactly what he means.

Louis’ eyes go wide. “What? No, you don’t. You want to settle down with someone nice, have a regular life.”

“No. Well, I suppose I did want that at some point, like maybe you did too. But I’ve tried nice and I’m not sure regular was ever really going to happen. So, here it is: I want to write with you and sing with you and have water fights with you and explore new places with you, I want to eat with you and watch movies with you and talk with you, but I also want to kiss you and hold your hand and cuddle with you and I want to watch you get off, I want to be the one who gets you off, I want to be the reason you’re making those noises you make because I was right, you do make the best noises. I want all of that. I don’t want to settle down with someone nice, have a regular life. I want to live it up with you, fierce, contrary, prickly, loud, playful, caring, brilliant you, have an extraordinary life.”

“Liam…”

“Are you saying no? You can, you know. You don’t owe me anything just because I want it. If it’s not something you want, then say no. It’ll hurt, but you’ll still be my best friend. _Are_ you saying no?”

“Saying no to what, exactly? Because that sounded like a marriage proposal.”

Liam blinks. He supposes that is what he was thinking of, even if he hadn’t consciously put it into that context. He eyes Louis’ bemused expression and asks, “Too much?”

“A bit,” Louis says dryly.

“How about with a really long engagement?” Liam asks hopefully.

Louis laughs and shakes his head.

“Well, then, what are you good with for now? More of this?”

Louis nods.

“Dating?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Boyfriends, then?”

Louis wrinkles his nose a bit at the label, but nods.

“Moving into together after the tour ends?”

“And a promissory ring, too?” Louis asks sarcastically.

“If you’d accept one,” Liam says ruefully. He can’t even pretend like he’s not already invested in this.

“Well, we’ll see.”

Liam feels happiness bubble up. Because it may not be a yes, but it’s not a no. Liam kisses Louis quick and hard on the mouth and then drops little kisses all over the rest of his face.

“Liam!” Louis says complainingly, but he doesn’t try to stop Liam or push him away and his lips keep quirking up from the frown he’s trying to keep on his face.

Liam only stops after he’s kissed every part of Louis’ face at least once. He pulls back a bit and smiles at Louis. He shifts to cuddle up with Louis and is suddenly reminded that they’ve made something a mess. “I should get a flannel, clean up.”

Louis’ hand clutches at him and Louis’ eyes dart around before he slowly lets go of Liam. “Guess so,” he says, jaw tight.

Liam had almost forgotten what had led up to this. Liam thinks. “Can I borrow some clothes?”

“What? What for?” Louis gives him a confused look.

“Hold on.” Liam slides down to the foot of the bed under the covers.

“Liam, what are you doing?”

Liam gropes on the floor by the bed blindly until he comes across some fabric. He pulls it up and slides back up to the head of the bed and brandishes his shirt at Louis. He quickly wipes Louis and himself mostly clean and then tosses the shirt back on the floor. He sidles up to Louis and smiles at him and says, “We’ll do a more thorough job in the morning. Maybe take a shower together if you’re up for it.”

“And you’ll need some clothes to wear then.”

“At least a cleaner shirt.”

Louis laughs. “Okay, then, in the morning.” Louis reaches out and turns off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness, letting Liam pull him into a full body cuddle.

Liam knows Louis won’t magically be okay in the morning, but maybe he’ll be slightly less wary. It doesn’t matter if he is or not, though, Liam will do his best to help. Liam falls asleep with Louis in his arms, wondering what kind of ring Louis would like and when he would accept one.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you find any typos or if the format is messed up or if you think I need any tags.


End file.
